This invention relates generally to ventilation, and more specifically to ventilation during storage within grain bins.
Cost effective grain management systems require not only rapid drying of the grain, but also control of the grain moisture content during storage. Since storage may continue for a relatively long period of time, it is virtually certain that storage bin conditions will vary greatly between drying and storage conditions. Economy and safety considerations have generally moved the agriculture industry toward ambient air drying of grain as opposed to fuel heated air for drying. However, this trend adds to the difficulty in properly controlling grain moisture, since unheated air can vary greatly in its own moisture content. It is, in fact, quite possible to have air conditions which, rather than drying the grain, actually increase the moisture content in the grain.
While there have been previous efforts to avoid these problems by using temperature sensors to determine proper drying conditions, these methods do not actually solve the difficulties because they do not comprehend the full scope of the problem.